Means for uncurling films or strips



G. GOUDIS.

MEANS FOR UNCURLING FILMS 0R STRIPS.

APPLICATION F'ILED JAN. 15, 1921 1 ,385,537. Patnted July 26, 1921.

50 laterally or uncurl it so that the film is then UNITED STATES GEORGE GO'UDIS, 013 DETROIT, IMIIGHIGI-AN.

MEAN S FOR UN C'URLING FILMS OR STRIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J l 26K 1921 Application filed January 15, 1921. Serial No. 437,558.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE GOUDIS, asubject of the King of Greece, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Uncurling Films or Strips, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to means for treating or coating sensitized films such as used for photography, or 'for treating photographic strips, paper, or the like,and particularly to means for flattening or uncurling the film or strip after it has been sensitized.

In the preparation of sensitized gelatin films, the unsensitized film passes to a sensitizing bath and is carrled around a roller in this bath and then is carried through a drier which is a relatively long housing open at itsopposite ends, one part of the housing having means whereby cold air is admitted to the housingand the other part of-the housing having means whereby Warm air is admitted thereto to thus dry the film without causing the firm or the emulsion thereon to crack. The film is carried through this housing on a carrier and is then carried to a reel. The film as it dries contracts upon the upper or sensitized surface, and as a'consequence the filmrolls up or curls up at its lateral edges and the services of-an operator are required to unfold-or unc-url this film as it passes from the drier so that the filmmay be wound upon a reel and be relatively fiat transversely.

The object of my invention is to provide means of this character which will not injure in any way the sensitized coating on the film and'which will prevent the film from cracking or folding, 4

A further object-is to provide a device of this character comprising two rollers convergently disposed and having the vertex of the angle made by the rollers extending toward the oncoming film so that the convergent ends of the rollers will be inserted within the curled film and as the film is advanced the rollers will act to spread the film plalced in condition to be wound upon a ree Other'objects will appear in the course of the following description.

y invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view partially 1n sectlon showing an apparatus for coating films with sensitized emulsion and showing my device applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is 'a top plan view of a portion of the apparatus showing my device in applied position and acting to uncurl a film;

Fig. 2; I Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Referring to Fig. 1, wherein the mechanism for sensitizing and drying the film is diagrammatically shown, B designates a bath of sensitized material over which the film A passes. This passes from a reel 10. The film is caused to come in contact with the sensitizing liquid in the bath by means of a roller 11. From the roller 11 the film passes upward and enters a longitudinally extending housing or chamber 12 which is g. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of open at opposite ends and which, under ordinary circumstances, is approximately 200 in length.

Disposed within this chamber is the upper flight of an endlesscarrier 13. This endless carrier extends through the chamber and is carried on its ends by rollers 14, and the lower flight. of the carrier depends belowthe chamber. This endless carrier may be of any suitable or usual construction and engages with the under or unsensitized side faces of the film and draws the film gradually through the drying chamber 12. After it passes through the drying chamber, the film passes over suitable guides 15 and is carried to a winding roller 16. As the film passes through the housing 12, it is submitted first to the action of cool air and later to the action of warm air so as to dry the coating on the film. It is necessary to do this in order to prevent the emulsion on the surface of the film from cracking, which it would do if this film with its coating of wet emulsion were submitted to the action of hot air first and too sudden a; drying-ac ytion-was secured.

To this end, the housing has a cold air -inletpipe 17 entering it adjacent its inlet end anda warm air inlet pipe 18 ent'eringjit more or less adjacent its exit end so that for the first partof the passage through the housing 12 the film is submitted to the action of cool air and for the second part of its passage it is submitted-to the action of warm air. 11 of these parts are such as are com-. monl found in film sensitizing mechanism and orm no part of this invention.

As before remarked, the film as itpasses through the drier housing 12 and iscarried alongth'rough this housing by the endless carrier 13 gradually commences to contract upon its upper or sensitized face as the'sensi tizing coating dries and-.must be spread or flattened out so as to be transversely flattenedbefore it reaches the guides 15 and the roller 16. i The degree of curvature, curl or 1 roll which the-film takes varies. Sometimes the roll is relatively tight, sometimes it is relativel open, but for the purpose of opening the lm and uncurlin it,I dispose below the path of travel of the lm at the exit end of the housin '12 a platform 19 and dispose above the pat of travel of the film a transverse bar 20 having bearing brackets 21 attached thereto, these brackets being disposed in angular relation to each other and to'the bar 20. Beyond the transve se bar- 20 I mount the transversely exten ing shaft 23 carrying the band wheel 24.0; other .means whereby power, may be transmitted to this shaft, and .I mount upon this transverse shaft v rol ers- 2 arrow in Fig. edges of the l the beveled gear wheels 25. Mounted in the bearings 21 at their rear endsaandi in suit-. ,able bearin s at their forward ends are thean arl i isposed shafts 26 carryin the and the beveled gear whee s 28 which mesh with the beveled gear wheels 25. These rollers 27 rotate with the shafts 26 and extend convergently so that the adjacent ends of the shafts 26 and rollers 27 are relativel close to ether and disposed at, the mid le of the fi m A which is .moving in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2.

The transversely curved or curled film moves as described in the direction of the 2 and the upwardly curved m" or strip A strike the rollers and as these rollers are rotating in the direc-' .tions of the arrowsin'Fig. 2, that is in a direction enerally reverse to the line of movement 0 the film A, it i'sobvious that these rollers will act to spread the film laterally and to gradually flatten'out the film so that by the time the film has reached the forward portion of the rollers, the film has become.

' only slightly curved, as illustrated iniFig. 4.

This slight curvature-of the film is of no importance. It will be seen that these rollers touch the'edges of'thefilm and do not touch the face of the film. Of course,whi le some curvature will remain in the film, this is of no importance and is taken out when the film is wound upon the rollers 16. It is ob-. vious that a series of these rollers 27 may be disposed along the path of travel of the Elm, each one acting to further flatten the- 1m, use of one air of rollers 27 or to a plurality otpairs. either do I wish to be limited to the exact manner of mounting the rollers and I do not wish to be limited to the 27 nor the manner of driving these rolls,

though I havefound this very eflicient for the purpose described. After the film has passed the rollers 27 and the platform 19, it passes over the roller 15 and into suitable or usual'guides whereby the film is carried to the winding roller 16. I

My construction obviates entirely the lia-- bility of the film becoming folded over ilpon its edges. If a fixed spreading device were used in place of the roller 27, there would be a liability of the film being flattened but with its margins turned inward, and these margins would tend to become folded down flat upon the film as it passes through the guides. Byhaving the rollers 27 rotate'in a direction reverse to the general direction of thefilm, the contact of the rotating rollers with the film acts to spread the film laterally and not merely flatten it down, that is draw the film laterally from its middle, so as to take the curl out of it. This mechanism does away with the necessity of an operator standmg at the discharge end of the heater 12 and flattening the film or-taking the curl out of it as it leaves the heater.

versely comprising flattening members disr posed in the path of travel of the film and converging toward each. other in the direction from which the film is moving.

2. The combination with means for ap-' plying a coating to a film and a drier for the film through which the film is carried, of

means f or flattening the film transversely comprising convergentl disposed, rotatable, flattening rollers dlsposed in the 'path of travel of the film and converging toward each other in the direction from which the film is movin I 3. The com ination with means for applying a coating to a film and a drier for the film through which tlze film is carried, of

4. The combination with means for sensitizing a film and a drier casing through which said film is carried, of means for flattening the film comprising a platform over which the film passes, rollers mounted above the platform to contact with the edges of the film, said rollers converging toward the direct-ion'from which the film is moving, and means for rotating said rollers ifeversely to each other and reversely to the direction of movement of the film.

5. The combination with means for sensiti zing film and\a drier casing through .wh1ch said film is carried, of means for flattening the film comprising a platform over which the film passes, rollers mounted above the platform to contact with the edges of. the film, said rollers converging toward the direction from which thefilm is moving, beveled gear wheels operatively connected to the rollers to rotate them, a transverse driving shaft, and beveled gear wheels mounted upon the shaft engaging the beveled gear wheels on the rollers, the driving shaft being rotated in a direction to cause the rotation of the rollers reversely to each other and to the direction of movement of the film.

6. The combination with a filmcoating bath, a drier housing into which the film is carried from the bath, an endless conveyer mounted in the drier housing and by which the-film is carried through the housing and means for supplying cold and hot air to the housing, of means at the discharge end of the housing for flattening the film including a pair of power driven rollers arranged in convergent relation and at an inclination to the path of travel of the film, said rollers' converging toward the direction from which the film is moving and the divergent ends of the rollers extending beyond the margins of the film.

7. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a platform and means for causing a film to travel 10ngitudinally over said platform, of means for flattening the film comprising a pair of power driven rollers convergently disposed with relation to each other in the direction from which the film is moving, the, convergent ends of the rollers being disposed approximately in line with the middle portion of the film, the divergent ends of the rollers being disposed beyond the side edges of the film.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

GEORGE GOUDIS. 

